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Handyman Letter
October 15, 2000

IN THIS ISSUE:

1) A need for energy freedom... a message from the Natural Handyman.

2) Hello and thank you to Websites and publications that have recently linked
with or featured The Natural Handyman

3) What's new at Naturalhandyman.com

4) Q&A with our readers

5) LINKMEISTER's Corner

6) "Pass the hammer, would ya?"... NH's readers speak out!

7) Featured in the Natural Handyman Bookshop...

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1) A NEED FOR ENERGY FREEDOM... A MESSAGE FROM THE NATURAL HANDYMAN

Though I receive hundreds of cries for repair advice each month, I don't
receive many questions concerning solar heating or cooling. Though many of you
are understandably concerned about energy conservation and I am sure that most
of you have grimaced over your wintertime natural gas or oil bills (or summer AC
costs), I would bet that few of you have considered a foray into the thorny
world of energy independence.

A little history (albeit simplified) for those of you riding in baby seats in
the 1970's. Before America suffered its first oil crisis back in the 70's, we
were blissfully unaware of a financial/political storm brewing over oil. The
alliance of oil producing countries known as OPEC (The Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries) changed forever the dynamics of oil production and pricing,
taking it out of the hands of the corporations and moving the power to the local
rulers. OPEC was essentially ineffective at its inception in 1960 but by 1970
political turmoil in the Middle East and an expansion of OPEC membership to
include nearly 50% of world production caused substantial increases in the cost
of oil. A barrel of oil... 42 U.S. gallons... was selling for $1.30 in 1970.
After the Iranian revolution in 1979 and the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, the price
had risen to over $30.00! Fortunately, this price did not hold as good old free
market pressure from non-OPEC countries (including the US via expanding Alaskan
oil production) forced the prices down to between $15 and $20 a barrel for most
of the 80's and 90's.

But this return to price stability was nevertheless costly. The newly
oil-rich countries, eager to take advantage of their newfound wealth, borrowed
bucket-loads of money from more than eager multinational banks. When oil prices
dropped so did their ability to make their payments. Many countries, starting
with Mexico, defaulted on their loans. The subsequent rapid rise in interest led
to a world-wide financial slump that devastated markets. In some estimations
American workers lost up to 40% of their real earnings from 1980 to 1988!

Every cloud has a silver lining, and one of the benefits of this energy
"reality check" was increased conservation and research into
alternative energy sources. In 1978 President Carter established an energy tax
credit of 40% for energy-related home improvements such as insulation, solar
heating, wood stoves, etc. This, unfortunately, expired in 1985. Though there
are a few current proposals related to rooftop electricity generation and solar
water heating, they are (in this handyman's opinion) not practical or large
enough to entice many people to invest in these still expensive technologies.

During the 80's, I made a few personal forays into alternative energy. For
almost 10 years I supplied about 80% of the heat in my home with firewood and
met about 90% of my hot water needs with a home-made passive water heater. When
I moved to a new home in 1988, the new floor plan made similar projects
prohibitively expensive... especially without the tax incentive. Lower oil
prices made the retreat back into oil dependency (oil heats both my home and my
water) relatively painless and, unfortunately, guilt free.

Like it or not, I think most everyone knows that we are due for a rude
awakening. The alarm may be buzzing right now as oil prices reach record levels.
Worse, we are ill prepared to take advantage of the alternative energy
groundwork laid-but-forgotten back in the 80's. But I remember. I hope those of
you who don't will take the time to read and learn because we are on the brink
of some very serious changes in the way we view energy and our dependence on
uncontrollable and unreliable sources of fossil fuels.

To that end we hope to help provide you, our readers, over the coming months
with more resources for alternative energy and conservation.

NH

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4) Q&A WITH OUR READERS...

Dear NH,

I have five painted six-panel interior wood doors. During certain times of
the year the doors expand and there is a gap appears between the panels and the
frame that's not painted. What is the best way to paint 6-panel doors to prevent
this from happening?

I've seen 6-panel MDF doors on some home shows on TV. I'm having a hard time
finding these doors. Do you know what companies sell these types of doors? My
understanding is that these doors will not expand like regular 6-panel doors.

T

T,

Your problem is common but nevertheless frustrating. Because door panels
expand and contract at a different rate than the rails and stiles... the
horizontal and vertical components of the door... annoying paint
"gaps" appear around the perimeter of the panels. This expansion and
contraction is not really due to temperature changes but instead due to seasonal
increases in the amount of moisture in the air... humidity... which causes
unprotected or inadequately protected wood to swell.

There is no surefire way to solve this problem but it can be minimized in a
NEW door by completely sealing the door prior to painting with a "paintable"
wood sealer. A paintable sealer will give painting recommendations on the label.
Be careful to read the label as sealers have special painting requirements, such
as the use of an oil-based primer. Others have minimum waiting times between
sealing and painting. Don't use a deck sealer because many are so rugged that
they require actual weathering before painting should be attempted! Most wood
door manufacturers seal their exterior doors before shipment to your local
lumberyard, but this is rarely done for interior doors.

Since your doors are already painted, the most complete but also most
laborious solution would be to totally strip them, seal them and then repaint.
As you know from experience, repainting alone is not a solution since paint
cannot creep into every crevasse that a liquid sealer can.

As a less expensive alternative, you could seal just the tops and bottoms of
the door with a clear wood seal. These areas are often overlooked in door
protection, especially with interior doors, but are important in stabilizing the
amount of moisture in the door. In fact, most manufacturers void their
warranties if you don't seal ALL edges of the door against moisture... interior
and exterior! If you visualize how moisture moves through wood, you can see why
the top and bottom edges of the stiles would absorb large amounts of moisture!

MDF is an acronym for "medium density fiberboard". It is a wood
product made from wood fibers and bonding agents and can be pressed into boards,
machined into decorative moldings or pressed into shapes such door
"skins" (faces) that resemble real panel doors. MDF is currently used
for moldings and cabinet doors, though it is being used more for interior
doors. Its most endearing qualities are that it resists cracking, warping,
shrinking and swelling.

However, MDF is not the only man-made material that is used for doors. HDF,
or "high density fiberboard", is a sister product that is more
commonly used for the "skins" or faces of a special type of interior
door called a "moulded" door. Moulded doors are available with either
flat or panel-like appearance in many styles. They are also available with
hollow-cores or solid-cores, though you may have to special order the solid core
ones. Solid doors are much heavier and thus more sound deadening and... well...
solid! Hollow doors are much less expensive and lighter in weight, though this
makes them more susceptible to damage by angry (pick one... men, women,
teenagers, pit bulls).

Because the moulded skins are not a wood veneer, they are unsuitable for
staining and are sold pre-primed in what we in the business call "paint
quality". Expansion and contraction does not affect the paint film in
moulded doors since the faces expand uniformly and minimally. And I think they
look rather nice considering the low cost and low maintenance as compared to
wood doors. I have seen them in both thrifty and palatial homes. In truth, once
one gets past the snob appeal of a real wood door, the benefits of these
manufactured doors can't be denied. Because they are made from wood and wood
byproducts and not valuable and scarce hardwoods, they are also an
environmentally wise choice.

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Dear NH,

A bottle of muriatic acid has leaked onto our concrete floor in our basement.
I did not realize it happened until I saw the area of concrete discolored, rough
and porous. Is there anything I can do to restore the appearance and texture of
the concrete without having to pour new concrete in the problem area. I have
asked experts and they have told me to use a 10% ammonia solution to water ratio
and a straight ammonia pour onto the concrete, but both ways didn't work. I
would greatly appreciate your input as to what I can try as to no one knows the
answer.

NC from Chicago, Illinois

NC,

It was correct to apply the ammonia solution, since it neutralizes the
muriatic acid to prevent further damage. The ammonia was not a repair, though by
the tone of your letter you seem to have thought it would restore the concrete.
It won't.

The repair material you will need to use will depend on the extent of the
degradation of the concrete. If the surface is pitted or flaking, all loose
material should be wire-brushed, chiseled or scraped out. Then you can smooth
the surface with a cement topping mix. Topping mixes are designed to be used in
very thin applications and can be spread to a feather edge since they contain
very fine aggregate particles.

If the deterioration is severe and there is an actual hole of more than
1/2" in depth, you should probably use a concrete patching compound, which
is similar to the topping mix but has more strength in thick applications. Don't
get a fast setting mix... it is unnecessary for your application and frankly
more difficult for a novice to work with.

There are some very sophisticated epoxy patching and resurfacing compounds
that will also do the job. They are not cement-based but do stick like crazy in
difficult situations.

You will not be able to restore the concrete to the "exact"
appearance, since repairs rarely look like the original work due to color
variations, regardless of the skill of the mason. The best you can hope for is a
patch that is smooth and blends somewhat with the existing work. Of course, if
appearance is critical, you could have the entire floor resurfaced. If the patch
is professionally done, it will disappear under the new surface coat. As an
alternative to resurfacing the concrete to gain a more uniform appearance, you
might want to consider using a quality concrete floor paint.

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6) "PASS THE HAMMER, WOULD YA?"... NH's readers speak out!

Dear NH,

I think your site is great, and very helpful. It would be a help to add to
the pressure treated wood article some info on the levels of treatment available
in pressure treated word you can purchase. Their is a significant difference.

Jim,

Thanks for writing. Unfortunately most folks don't get a choice since few
lumberyards stock multiple grades. Usually, they stock what is most popular or
suited for local usage. Nevertheless your point is well taken and I will amend
the page to include more info concerning PT wood rating.

Currently, there are four levels of pressure treatment, regardless of the
chemical used as a preservative. The are based on the intended use of the
product and the measurement is in pounds of preservative per cubic foot of wood
product. The ratings and suggested uses are:

This information is required to be posted on each board and is either marked
with ink on the board or on a plastic tag that is stapled onto the end of each
treated board.

..................................................................

Dear NH,

Here is some info that might help the person who had a question on, making
window screens and storm windows, in the last newsletter. An easy way to make
window screens is to use a special molding available at most lumber yards called
"screen stock". The yard that I frequent stocks the molding in two
sizes. The molding has a 1/2 round piece of molding attached to it.

The molding has to be cut to fit, with 45 degree angles secured together with
corrugated, or "Skotch" fasteners. The 1/2 round piece, has to be cut
out with a utility knife. The screening is stapled into position, then the 1/2
round molding is tacked back into place to cover and reinforce the staples.

JM

Thanks, JM! I'll pass your comments on. Hopefully I'll also get a photo of
the molding posting on the site soon!